UPPER GRAND DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD
SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MINUTES
The Special Education Advisory Committee of the Upper Grand District School Board met on
Wednesday, May 9, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. in the Boardroom at 500 Victoria Road North, Guelph.
The following Association Members were present:
Pauline Busby, Community Living Guelph-Wellington, Sharon Dills, Learning Disabilities
Association of Wellington County, Beth Haworth, Community Member-at-Large, Jason
Offer, Association for Bright Children (ABC), Don Richardson, Integration Action for
Inclusion in Education and Community (Ontario), Sue Shaw and Carrie Proudfoot, Autism
Ontario-Wellington County, Stacey Stevens, VOICE for Hearing Impaired Children, and
Laurie Whyte, FASworld Canada (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders).
Present from Staff were:
Trudy Counter, Coordinator-Communication, Language and Speech Services, Lesley
Anne Jordan and Barb Tomkins, Special Education Consultants, Christine Kay,
Elementary Principal, Tracey Lindsay, Principal of Program, Doug Morrell, Superintendent
of Program, Sandra Roberts, Secondary Vice-Principal, Martha Rogers, Director of
Education, Sandra Szpular, Collaborative Projects Lead/Special Education Coordinator
and Janice Wright, Superintendent of Finance.
The following Trustees were present:
Marty Fairbairn and Jennifer Waterston
The following members sent regrets:
Kim Brenner, Parents for Children’s Mental Health-Wellington County and Katie Vanderyt,
VIEWS for Children Who Are Blind or Have Low Vision.
Jennifer Waterston called the meeting to order and welcomed our guests this evening.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Don Richardson requested an item be added to the agenda under Meeting Summary,
Recommendation(s) and Motion(s).
Moved by Pauline Busby
That the agenda of the May 7, 2012 meeting be approved with the requested addition.
The motion carried.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The following amendment was made to the minutes of the meeting held April 11, 2012;
• Page 5, second paragraph, amendment of the sentence, “Sue Shaw suggested that
as the date for the anti-bullying information is not yet set, that SEAC be presented
to on current Board policies/practices from PPM 145: Progressive Discipline and
Special Education Advisory Committee Minutes … Page 2
May 9, 2012
Promoting Positive Student Behaviour.”
Moved by Sharon Dills
That the minutes of the meeting held on April 11, 2012 be approved as amended.
The motion carried.
PARENT GUIDE TO SPECIAL EDUCATION
Sandra Szpular, Special Education Coordinator/Collaborative Projects Lead provided
background reminding SEAC of the time spent reviewing and revising the Special
Education Report last year. The Special Education Report is to be updated and available
on the Upper Grand DSB website by September 1, 2012 along with the Parent Guide to
Special Education.
The Parent Guide distributed has been revised to include the recommendations put
forward by SEAC in the fall. Some suggestions include changing the order of items,
explanation of the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process and Identification Placement
Review Committee (IPRC) process and listing the different exceptionalities. Sandra
thanked Trudy Counter for her work in editing the document for plain language.
The Parent Guide has been reviewed by the Special Education Review Committee and the
suggested changes were incorporated. One addition was to include information about the
Case Conference. Sue Shaw expressed concern about adding an additional meeting in the
way of a Case Conference. Tracey Lindsay provided information about the difference
between a Consultant Supported Team (CST) meeting and a Case Conference.
Members broke into groups and provided suggestions for recommended changes. These
include: outlining the importance of the CST meeting and how this should be identified as a
professional meeting; information about the Case Conference noting this can take place at
any time; emphasizing parents are informed every step of the way; moving the information
about the IPRC to the beginning of the document; an emphasis on the result being an
optimal educational outcome for the student; a flowchart outlining the process which would
include text for accessibility purposes; and ensure it contains plain language.
Laurie Whyte added that parents need to be provided with clear information before they
receive things like an IEP for their child. Jennifer Waterston suggested this could be
added to the school newsletters and the school websites. Sharon Dills reminded that not
all parents have access to computers and are therefore unable to access websites. A
common theme for recommendations by SEAC members was the importance of clear
communication about Special Education through a variety of methods.
LETTER IN RESPONSE TO THE DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES ONTARIO (DSO)
PRESENTATION
Jennifer Waterston asked for feedback about the letter in response to the Developmental
Services Ontario presentation and the two amendments which was distributed. Following
a brief discussion, it was decided that Amendment #2 was preferred.
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May 9, 2012
Laurie Whyte moved that Amendment #2 of the letter in response to the Developmental
Services Ontario presentation be approved.
The motion carried.
2012-2013 BUDGET
This evening, Dr. Martha Rogers, Director of Education and Janice Wright, Superintendent
of Finance thanked SEAC for the invitation to attend and present information about the
budget. Martha Rogers explained the budget information being shared this evening is still
in draft and has not been shared with Trustees; however a balanced budget will be shared
with Trustees on June 4, 2012.
Janice Wright spoke about the revenue side of the budget and referred to the 2012: B5
memo entitled “Education funding for 2012-13” which was distributed. This memo
provides information about the Grants for Student Needs (GSN) and begins by referring to
the government’s commitment to elementary and secondary education.
The Support for Student Achievement outlines the government’s commitment to the
existing Provincial Discussion Table (PDT) agreements that will carry–over. The 2012
Provincial Discussion Table refers to the proposed 2012-13 staff compensation, sick leave
plans and retirement gratuities. The enhancements to keep up with costs, reforms and
refinements to the GSN were reviewed as was the program enhancement grant and
outdoor education and learning opportunities grant. The New Teacher Induction Program
(NTIP) Allocation funding was also referenced.
The Special Education Grant is projected to remain the same. Our board continues to
spend more money than we receive in the area of special education. The Ministry plans to
continue to review and refine the components of the Special Education Grant during 201213. The Efficiency and Savings Measures from 2011-12 and the Savings Measures
introduced for 2012-13 were also shared. One of the savings measures to be implemented
in 2013-14 is a four-year high school program whereby once a student reaches a limit of
34 secondary school credits, additional credits will be funded at a lower rate than the day
school rate.
Memo 2012: B6 entitled 2012-13 “Funding in addition to Grants for Student Needs”
outlines the funding to be allocated to Boards. The names of the “Education Programs –
Other (EPO)” and “Official Languages in Education (OLE)” are contained in the memo as
well as a brief description of each. Some of the EPO funds we need to apply to receive
whereas others do not require an application. The allocated funds have been added
beside the name of those where we know how much funding we will receive.
The 2012-13 Projections/Comparison – Boards of Similar Size and the 2012-13
Projections/Comparisons of Neighbouring Boards displays how funding varies from board
to board.
Sue Shaw asked if the four-year high school program covers students in special education
programs. Janice Wright responded that this is based on credit acquisition and since
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May 9, 2012
students in developmental disability programs may attend until the age of 21 they will
obtain credits at their pace.
Jason Offer asked how many students we had attending secondary school even though
they had already earned their 34 secondary school credits. Janice Wright responded that
in 2010-11 we had approximately 249 students who had in excess of 34 credits. Jason
Offer also inquired about how many students the Special Education Amount is based on.
Janice Wright responded explaining there are four components to the Special Education
Per Pupil Amount (SEPPA) and the Ministry is continuing to review and refine this grant.
Sue Shaw inquired about the special education transportation amount. Janice Wright
explained that our board was part of an efficiency review whereby we received a high
rating and therefore receive a higher amount of funding for transportation.
Don Richardson asked if our board received any funds for Safe Schools – Student Support
Leadership Initiative. Janice responded that we did not. Sandra Szpular added that
although our board did not receive this funding we benefit from the Student Support
Leadership Initiative services. Don further inquired whether we participate in Equity and
Inclusive Education – Parent Engagement. Doug Morrell answered yes, through the
Toronto Area Regional Office.
Martha Rogers provided information about the expenditures portion of the budget this
evening. She began talking about the projected enrolment which appears to be leveling off
in the elementary panel however some areas of the board are seeing a decline at the
secondary panel. Despite the projected enrolment, there is a projected increase in the
number of elementary teachers required which is partially due to Full Day Kindergarten
and the increase in elementary teacher planning time. There may be an additional special
education program added in the City of Guelph to accommodate the number of students
moving from elementary to secondary.
Although some boards are projecting a significant reduction in the amount of Educational
Assistants, the number of Education Assistants allocated to special education in our board
has not been reduced in the draft expenditures budget.
The number of Early Childhood Educators in Full Day Kindergarten (FDK) has increased
as the number of schools offering FDK in our board has grown. There are no reductions to
the Professional and Para Professional group.
Jason Offer asked if he could receive a copy of the final allocations once the budget has
been approved. Janice Wright responded that the budget presentation will be held on
June 4, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. and is open for anyone to attend. The final budget handouts will
be available at the meeting. If you would like to receive a package, please let her know.
Sue Shaw thanked Martha Rogers for the information presented and the fact that there are
no plans to reduce Educational Assistants.
Sue Shaw further acknowledged and congratulated Martha Rogers on her recent Women
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May 9, 2012
of Achievement Lifetime Achievement Award.
ACCESSIBILITY POSTERS
Sandra Szpular spoke about the Accessibility posters following feedback and concerns
received from SEAC.
The concerns expressed were about the wording on the Accessibility Poster. This was
shared with the Accessibility Committee and the decision was made to recall the original
Accessibility Posters and re-issue new posters. The Accessibility Poster in the main foyer
of the Board office has been replaced and others will be replaced throughout the Upper
Grand DSB.
OPEN FORUM
Stacey Stevens reported on the Annual VOICE Conference held the weekend of May 4th
and was happy the Upper Grand DSB was represented at the professional workshop day
as part of the conference. The Waterloo Wellington Chapter is having a BBQ on May 31 at
Kidsability 6:00 p.m.
Don Richardson reported on the Annual General Meeting of Integration Action for Inclusion
in Education and Community (Ontario). They are planning a provincial conference in
Kingston to take place in the spring of 2013 and looking at ways to work with other
associations.
He commended the board on their work with Guelph Police Services
around bullying. The Guelph Police and the Bookshelf partnered for a special screening of
“BULLY” in April. This is scheduled to be playing at the Elora Cinema May 12 to 24th.
Jason Offer reported ABC is currently talking about the IEP Internal Review and ways we
can get SEAC members involved so we are aware of how this is progressing. Sandra
Szpular mentioned that Sharon Dills and Lesley Anne Jordan are part of this process and
the review will be on June 12th. The report is due at the end of June and will be shared
with SEAC in September.
Carrie Proudfoot referred to the “BULLY” movie and it is hoped that Autism Ontario will be
featuring this in the fall. A movie morning will be held on May 12th, the open forum will held
on May14th and swimming is scheduled for May 26th. The Annual General Meeting will be
on May 28th and the Provincial AGM will be held in June. The family BBQ is scheduled for
June 26th.
Laurie Whyte reported on the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) training provided to
Educational Assistants on the PA Day noting it was well attended and there has been
positive feedback received. She also advised that FASD1 has received funding for a
public health campaign to increase awareness. She asked whether Special Education
Consultants were still gathering information about the number of students with FASD to
which Barb Tomkins responded that the numbers gathered are of students diagnosed with
FASD. Laurie Whyte further inquired about the Sticks and Stones video that she
suggested be shared with SEAC. Doug Morrell responded that we are requesting the
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May 9, 2012
person that developed this video come and share it at the June meeting.
Sharon Dills reported LDAO is planning their fall events. She spoke about Eric Gillis, an
Olympian, teacher and father diagnosed with dyslexia who spoke about his challenges
growing up with dyslexia at a recent presentaion. The LDAO Newsletter is expected
shortly. She reminded this week is Children’s Mental Health week.
UPDATES FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PROGRAM
Doug Morrell congratulated staff on the PA Day sessions. The Parent Involvement
Committee (PIC) offered a workshop for parents, teachers and administrators on April 26th
featuring Anne Henderson author of Beyond the Bake Sale whereby positive feedback has
been received.
On the afternoon of May 7th, the Special Education department provided an inservice for
Special Education Resource Teachers. The topics included IPRC reviews, the role of the
transitional educational assistant and mental health. An inservice for secondary will focus
on mental health with three secondary schools presenting on how they support other
schools in the area of mental health.
The memo “Instructions Regarding School Boards’ Reports on the Provision of Special
Education Programs and Services, 2012” was received and will be an item discussed at
the June SEAC Meeting.
The Special Olympics Day for students in developmental disability programs will be held
on May 23, 2012 at St. James High School.
TRUSTEE REPORT
There was nothing to report this evening.
MEETING SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION(S) AND MOTION(S)
After reviewing Policy 503 Student Discipline, Bullying Prevention and Intervention and
Policy 504 Equity and Inclusive Education, Don Richardson tabled until the next meeting, a
motion outlining the actions he suggested SEAC urge the Board and Director of Education
do regarding board policies, ministry regulation compliance and conducting an audit. This
will be attached to the meeting minutes.
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Laurie Whyte
That the meeting be adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
The motion carried.